Wednesday, April 3, 2019

PAUL'S FIRST LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS TO TIMOTHY

My Dear Precious Child,
    Paul felt that women must not dress in order to call attention to themselves, much like the religious children of the descendants of Hagan required, and still require, women to hide their hair, their skin and their physical attributes.  Paul was not as stringent, but he advised Timothy to tell the women in the church to dress modestly, without braided hair, gold, jewelry or expensive clothes.  Instead of adornment, he wrote that women must show their religious preferences to be good works that are proper for women. 
    As was popular in Jewish religious groups, he held onto the religious law that women should not teach men, nor should women tell men what to do.  His thinking was that Adam was created first and Eve later, so therefore women should not speak in an assembly but should be quiet and respectful.  He wrote that Adam did not lead Eve astray, but it was Eve who led Adam astray and fell into sin.  He wrote that, however, women shall be saved by childbearing, provided she leads a modest life and is constant in faith, love and holiness, (I Timothy 3:8-15)  That Jewish tradition followed Paul into the body of Christ, in which many traditions hung onto him as being practical. He forgot that it was Mary Magdala and another Mary to whom Jesus first appeared after his resurrection, suggesting that in Christ there are no males or females, which Paul had previously proclaimed to the Galatians that in Christ there are no male or females, no Greek or Jew, that you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Paul wrote earlier in the letter to Timothy that Eve was deceived but Adam disobeyed My commandment that I gave personally gave to him before I created Eve by taking the female part of Adam out of him and created Eve. (I Timothy 2:14; Genesis 2:5-23)
    One of the curses of the devil that was prevalent even in religious beliefs at the time, and still is, that men would rule over women and that she would desire a husband to rule over her.  (Genesis 3:16) It was a curse that came from the devil after Adam allowed the devil and his demons to enter the earth and become lord of it.  After Christ's resurrection, it was when Christ Jesus first appeared to the two women named Mary that the curse was wiped out in My eyes and males and females became one in Christ, on equal footing in their relationship with Me.  Jesus Christ chose to appear to the women first because they were waiting for Him at the tomb.
    Also as part of the practical rules that Paul wrote to Timothy was that the president of a group of believers was a noble work and that impeccable character is required of the president.  He must be only once married, temperate, discreet, courteous, hospitable, a good teacher, one who manages his family well, a man who brings his children up to obey him, not a drinker, not hot-tempered, but instead to be kind and peaceable.  He must not be a lover of money, must be a man who manages his family well, and his children must be well behaved.  He wrote that a man is not a good candidate if he cannot manage his entire family.  The president of a group should not be a new convert or pride will turn his head and then he would be condemned by the devil.  People outside the church should also speak well of him so that he never gets a bad reputation and falls into the devil's trap.
   He wrote to Timothy also that in the same way deacons must be respectable men whose word can be trusted, they must be moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money.  He added that the men who want to be deacons must be conscientious believers in the mystery of the faith.  They must be examined first and only admitted to be deacons if there is nothing against them.  He wrote that in the same way women must be respectable, not gossips but must be sober and reliable.  Deacons must only have been married once and must be men who manage their families well.   Paul proclaimed to Timothy that the men who carry out their duties as demons will earn a high standing for themselves and will be rewarded for their work for the faith of Christ Jesus.  He reiterated to Timothy that in case he was delayed from coming to them, he wanted Timothy to know how people should behave in My family, that is in Me, the Living God who holds all truth and keeps it safe.
    Paul wrote that the mystery of the faith to the believers in the church where Timothy lived was very deep indeed.  He wrote the facts in which they believed :  1.that Christ was made visible in the flesh, 2. that He was attested to by the Holy Spirit, 3. that Christ was seen by angels, 4. that He was proclaimed to the pagans, 5. that Christ was believed in by people in the world, and 6. then He was taken up in glory. (I Timothy 3:14-16)
    Paul's serious talk with Timothy in his letter writing was full of instructions to "do this" and "don't do that."  He knew how to identify the devil's works and he wanted to save his followers from having to experience the consequences of falling for the devil's temptations and thus inheriting his consequences instead of their doing My will in the earth and inheriting My kingdom of heaven in their lives.
    Listen to My Holy Spirit.  He knows how to lead you around the traps set for you by the devil, many about which Paul warned Timothy in his letter to him.
    Your Father of Wise Practical Instructions 

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